Towns on Strike Against Construction Freeze

Hillel Fendel
A7 News

The struggle against the government-imposed ten-month construction freeze becomes more aggressive this week, as municipalities and regional councils in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) go on strike. Various municipal offices in different localities will take turns striking this week, and their employees will spend the time protesting outside the national government offices in Jerusalem.

Some 200 people took part in a large demonstration there this morning (Sunday) to kick off the protest campaign. Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Regional Council, said, “All the municipal employees have gathered here outside the Prime Minister’s Office to protest this racist order that forbids only Jews to build in their land. This is an order that contrasts with all elementary civil rights.”

Today Us, Tomorrow You

Tzviki Bar-Chai, head of the Mt. Hevron Regional Council, said, “We are the elected representatives of over 300,000 residents. The State of Israel, without legislation and without even a government decision, has caused great harm to those hundreds of thousands of people by revoking their authorities regarding building. We refuse to let this pass.”

Bar-Chai added a call to mayors of other towns and cities around the country to join the struggle: “Today it is us, tomorrow it could be you.”

'Netanyahu Has Adopted Left-Wing Approach'

The Mayor of Kedumim, Chananel Durani, said on Saturday night, “The construction freeze order is unethical and anti-Zionist, and is liable to undermine and destroy the entire Jewish settlement enterprise. Netanyahu has essentially adopted the left-wing position that the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria is an obstacle to peace, and has taken a step towards the establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the State of Israel.”

“We cannot continue to run our towns and live our lives normally when the sword of destruction is poised at our communities," Durani continued. "We call upon the nationalist public to join the struggle against the freeze until its total revocation.”

MK Danny Danon (Likud) called upon the Cabinet ministers to oppose the freeze: “They must tell Netanyahu what they really think – that the freeze is a mistake and it must be revoked immediately.”

Barak, Too

“We must also outspokenly oppose the aggressive policies of the Defense Minister [Ehud Bara," said Durani, "who is using the army and the security forces in an illicit manner against law-abiding citizens.”

MK Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) spoke at the demonstration and said, “It is absurd that the voting public that brought a Jewish and religious government into power must now stand and protest against the breaking of a clear election promise. Ehud Barak and his Labor Party must not dictate government policy.”

Orlev and Durani thus touched on a sensitive point: The extent of Barak’s significant influence on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – despite the fact that Labor has only 13 Knesset Members, while the Likud heads the government and has 27.

Danny Dayan, head of the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria said, “We are determined to bring about the renewal of construction in Yesha.”